A Scoreboard that Summarizes the State of the Nation’s Football

This season for Fenerbahçe can be divided into two parts: B.F. (Before Fred) and A.F. (After Fred). The turning point in their game was Fred’s return. Once he stepped onto the pitch, Fenerbahçe made significant progress in two key areas:

1. They might attack more frequently from the left, especially through Maximin, but their right-side attacks are far more effective. Last week, they scored four goals from right-wing plays against Rizespor. Yesterday, in the first half, all their effective attacks, including the goal, came from there. Fred, playing on the right inside, has had a big impact on this. Mert has improved, and Tadic has risen thanks to his connection with Fred.

EVERYTHING CHANGES WITH FRED

2. Since Fred started playing, Fenerbahçe’s center-back pairing has been pushing further up the pitch. Before Fred, the average position of Çağlar-Djiku was much deeper, and they paid the price for this with an elongated team structure, especially in the matches against Lille. However, with Fred’s arrival, Fenerbahçe’s defensive duo now comfortably step up to the halfway line. This also increased the effectiveness of their high pressing against Alanyaspor yesterday.

A FOREIGNER WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT!
Looking at the Süper Lig standings as of the morning of August 31, we come across a bizarre table: Fenerbahçe and Alanyaspor have played 4 matches each in the league so far, while Trabzonspor and Kayserispor have played only 1 match. If an Englishman or a German unfamiliar with Turkish football were to look at this table, they would think it was a typo!

THE “BYE WEEK” DISGRACE
Of course, the reason the standings have become so nonsensical is due to the extraordinary incompetence of the previous TFF administration. If the previous TFF management had relegated 5 teams instead of 4 from the league last year, this season would have 18 teams, and we wouldn’t be experiencing this “bye week” disgrace. Additionally, if the same TFF had a bit of memory and remembered that league matches were postponed during the playoff rounds in Europe last season and didn’t schedule matches for that date this year, the disgrace in the standings wouldn’t have reached this level. Incapable of properly planning a season or drawing a fixture, the (former) TFF management… A league played with an odd number of teams… A standings table where one team has played 4 matches and another has played 1… This is the shortest summary of the incompetence in our country’s football.